I love a compelling mystery movie or TV show, so I found myself instantly interested in The Thursday Murder Club. I heard of the Richard Osman’s book series long before the film reached the development stage. I haven’t had a chance to read the books yet. Nevertheless, The Thursday Murder Club was at the top of my must-watch movie list. This Netflix film doesn’t disappoint.
I have no idea how it compares to the book, but as a mystery movie, it’s very entertaining. I watch mystery movies for the detective characters, and sometimes for the mystery itself. I very much enjoy Helen Mirren’s Elizabeth Best. The rest of the Thursday Murder Club are also fun to watch, but it’s really Elizabeth’s operation.
Watching her is enough to hook you into The Thursday Murder Club, but I was really curious about the main mystery. However, it was the crimes of the past that stole my attention. Warning: The Thursday Murder Club Spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.
I Found The Angela Hughes Mystery Much More Intriguing Than The Main Mystery
Most of The Thursday Murder Club’s main mystery revolves around who murdered Tony Curran (Geoff Bell). The film takes a few twists and turns, and we witness a second murder before the credits roll. Ian Ventham (David Tennant) also ends up dead. Can’t have a film called The Thursday Murder Club without a few murders. However, these key deaths aren’t what caught my interest.
The film opens with a murder that happened in 1973. A woman named Angela Hughes is thrown out a window with a stab wound. Her boyfriend, Peter Mercer (Will Stevens), claims that a thief broke into her apartment and killed and stabbed Angela. However, the police were unable to locate this mystery second man. Nevertheless, the cops released Peter because they considered him “a good bloke.”
This murder quickly grabbed my attention. It felt more like classic mystery films, books, or mystery TV shows. Even Elizabeth naming Angela the Woman in White felt like a not-so-sly nod to some classic book titles and mysteries. I thought the starting mystery would be the main one, so I was a little shocked when things shifted towards the Tony Curran murder. The Angela Hughes murder’s main purpose is to set up Joyce (Celia Imrie) to join the Thursday Murder Club. It also had a significant role in the Tony Curran murder and some of the film’s messages.
It’s A Lot Different Than The Main Mystery, But They Link In Fascinating Ways
The Thursday Murder Club eventually reveals that Peter’s disappearance ties into Ian’s death, but that’s not the interesting way these stories link. Their links have more to do with these stories’ parallels. We discover that Bogdan (Henry Lloyd Hughes) killed Tony by accident. He was trying to obtain his passport, which was being held against his will to trap him.
The withholding of his passport prevented him from going home to his family. Bogden establishes that he has a very close bond with his mother. Bogden could have seen a world where he and his mother never reunite. We learn that John (Paul Freeman), Penny’s (Susan Kirkby) husband, killed Ian to protect her.
There is a running chain of committing unspeakable crimes for love. It’s to protect or be with the ones you love. These murder mysteries also share the killers being the most obvious suspects, but people ignore the evidence because they have some sort of affection for the criminals. The police view Peter as a good dude, so they ignore all the clues pointing to him as the murderer.
Elizabeth develops a friendship with Bogden, so despite her initial suspicions of him, she stops looking at him as the killer. These things show how the cases are linked in cinematic parallel ways, but they also have more direct connections.
The Angela Hughes’ Mystery Reveals Actually Shocked Me
I pride myself on solving mysteries in fictional work before they’re revealed. Therefore, I was playing along as I watched The Thursday Murder Club. I did not see it coming that Penny killed Peter. I saw it even less that John killed Ian. It’s not that the movie didn’t give clues into these reveals, I guess I wasn’t expecting them to connect. I definitely wasn’t expecting Penny to be the one who killed Peter. This shocking development made me appreciate Angela Hughes’ mystery so much more.
It takes a lot to surprise me, so I cheer when it happens. That may be why the mystery also works because it’s treated like a side story, but so important to the film. You don’t pay as much attention to it as you would to the Tony and Ian murder mysteries. You also aren’t informed about John’s connection to the mystery human remains until later. It’s a clever way to keep viewers far away from starting to draw connections.
Maybe readers of the book pick up the clues better and figure out John's involvement earlier, but the movie makes the mystery harder to uncover sooner. This is also probably why it was a highly anticipated book adaptation; book readers may want to see how the mysteries work on screen.
I Think Angela Hughes’ Story Represents A Lot Of The Major Themes In The Thursday Murder Club
I think one of the most prominent themes of The Thursday Murder Club is loving someone through sickness and through health. Elizabeth’s husband, Stephen (Jonathan Pryce), suffers from dementia. Elizabeth remains devoted to him, despite how hard this illness is on both of them. We only meet Penny in hospice care in a coma-like state. John remains by her side while she slowly dies.
We know that John has been a devoted husband throughout their marriage. He helped her cover up a murder, and murdered for her. We see many examples of strong familial bonds and how far people will go to protect the people they love.
John, Penny, and Bogdan also highlight individuals who aren’t inherently bad people, but in an act of desperation, commit a crime. All three are sympathetic killers. Angela Hughes’ story represents so much of the core of The Thursday Murder Club, from underestimating people because of gender or age biases to deep regret for one deadly decision.
This Mystery Made Me More Excited To See Future Movies Or Read The Books
I really hope there are more adaptations of The Thursday Murder Club books. Mainly because I am curious about the other mysteries. Surely, there have to be more mysteries as fascinating and captivating as the Angela Hughes murder. These have now become upcoming Netflix movies that I have to watch if created.
Even if The Thursday Murder Club doesn’t make more movies, I now want to read all the books.
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